The Big Y - The Flood Thereafter, Pig, Mr. Burns - Play Reviews

The Flood Thereafter - Canadian Stage Company at Berkeley Street Theatre - Toronto, ON - *** (out of 5 stars)
Written by Sarah Berthiaume, Translated by Nadine Desrochers, Directed by Ker Wells
Runs until Oct. 6th 2013

Pig - Buddies in Bad Times Theatre - Toronto, ON - ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) 
Written by Tim Luscombe, Directed by Brendan Healy
Runs until Oct. 6th 2013

Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play - Playwrights Horizons - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ** (out of 5 stars)
Written by Anne Washburn, Directed by Steve Cosson
Runs until Oct. 20th 2013 

Three fascinating plays performed in three stellar productions, yet each play left me leaving the theatre asking "but why?". Perhaps my reaction (and thus opinion of the play) has more to do with my own understanding of each play, and less to do with the plays themselves (since each production themselves were excellent). While the plays may have simply there to pose questions, I couldn't help wanting more answers.


                    

In The Flood Thereafter, a new twist on the story of Odysseus, now set in a small Quebec fishing village where each day, June, a daughter of the Sirens, strips for the townsmen who weep at the sight of her beauty. When a young outsider Denis finds himself in town, an attraction between the two younguns starts pulling apart the nets set in place by the women of the town.

Kevin MacDonald and Courtney Ch'ng Lancaster are enigmatic as Denis and June, with Maggie Huculak standing out amongst a game cast as Penelope, an older Siren waiting for her own Odysseus to show up (from the bar). On a stunning set by Yannik Larivée, the actors recite poetic monologues and the audience itself gets implicated in our watchful desires as Lancaster's June strips for the bar patrons (and audience).

Using the Greek tale with a Quebec modern twist is an interesting premise, but much of the drama feels familiar despite the new perspective, and there does not seem to be any deeper insight into this exercise in lust, desires, and waiting out life while drowning in it.


                    

In the notorious Pig, Luscombe examines an alternative side to gay love beyond the mainstream version gay politics have been trying to sell to legitimize gays to the masses. Written to shock, the new play follows multiple angles of gay relationships that take extreme sex, sado-masochistic yearnings and even death into play. There are fascinating issues at hand, including a couple whose HIV positive half wants his young lover to participate in a seeding party (where the uninfected gets infected) as the ideas turn them on, yet with the hint of death lingers.

Luscombe's play is intentionally confusing, playing with timelines, reality and storytelling, and multiple characters played by three actors (or sometimes the same character in different timelines). The confusing narrative adds to the dark and confusing nature of the subject matter but while the twisty format adds to the tension and the tone of the play, it might ultimately be the demise of the play in the later half of the play when things really get dark and a truer, deeper connections to the characters could benefit the play as a whole. While I was not particularly shocked by the actions of these characters, I was hoping to understand why they found such harsh sex and love such a turn on, and how these people's desires were intertwined with their being.

The production itself however is beautifully done, with go-for-broke performances by the amazing cast of Paul Dunn, Blair Williams and Bruce Dow. As the central couple(s), Dunn and Williams have a fascinating pas-de-deux with a dance of power, desires and fear. Dow, playing the most distinctly different characters (and often our best clue to differing narratives) is horrifying/creepy/sweet/pitiful as the 3rd wheel instigator. Healey's tight direction on a beautifully haunting set by James Lavoie and lighting by Rebecca Picherak is only enhanced by the sound design by Antoine Bedard.


                    

In Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play, during a post-apocalyptic time, survivors hide out and begin retelling the old Cape Fear episode of The Simpsons. Then several years later, the same group perform another episode without the use of electricity, and under threat from possible attack. A couple generations later, a group performs the same Cape Fear episode as a play, only with narrative and lines changed to fit with their own post-apocalyptic history. As an academic exercise, it's an interesting exploration of the process of storytelling and how legends and parables are created through the broken-telephone evolution.

While the first two acts set up an interesting premise, the third act, presented as-is (as the Simpsons show within the show) with only a final second reveal that adds the layer of commentary over the whole play. In the end, as much as I enjoyed the first half, as academically clever as the whole play might have been, the third act lost me with little resonating, and feeling like an overstretched sketch to drive home a simple idea. So why was the play so critically admired?

Photo of The Flood Thereafter by Bruce Zinger
Photo of Pig by Jeremy Nimnagh
Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

More After the Jump...

Mother Knows - The Best Brothers - Play Review

The Best Brothers - Tarragon Theatre - Toronto, ON - **** (out of 5 stars)
Written by Daniel MacIvor, Directed by Dean Gabourie
Runs until Oct. 27th, 2013


Daniel MacIvor's latest play, originally written for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival's 2012 season, has been transferred over to Tarragon Theatre, and like the last Stratfest-to-Tarragon transfer (The Little Years), it has given the Toronto theatre audience a second chance at discovering a tiny gem of a play.

                        

The Best Brothers is about a straight laced architect and his gay real estate agent brother as they come together to deal with the tragic death of their mother. After dying in a freak accident at a Gay Pride event, the Best brothers must confront their mother's demise, their relationships with her, each other, and how a pet dog shall be dealt with.

Considering the premise is such a morbid sounding situation, MacIvor's two actor play is surprisingly light and calming, with the right touch of humour that balances the more emotional aspects of the show. With MacIvor playing the architect brother and John Beale as the other, the relationship between the two brothers on display seems genuine in their pointed banter with the hints of familial love beneath the brotherly jibes.

With a season already under their belts, Beale and MacIvor's timing and chemistry together is spot on, and adding a great score by Jonathan Monro, and lighting design cues by Etai Erdal on a beautifully simple but shifting set by Julie Fox only underlines their perfect synchronization in the play. And in a clever move, both actors portray the mother giving each brother their own personal connection to the central figure.

                                    

MacIvor is wonderful as the actor in the play he wrote (not really a surprise), but the real discovery is John Beale, an actor I was not familiar with (a Nova Scotia native) but am glad has come to Toronto in this superb performance. I was not really familiar with director Dean Gabourie's work either but the whole production is smooth and feels seamless and very clever in its simplicity, allowing the Best Brothers' relationship and banter room to grow and fill the stage and our hearts.



Photos by Cylla von Tiedemann
Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

More After the Jump...

Dazed and Amused - The Taming of the Shrew and The Drowned Man - Theatre Reviews

The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable - Punchdrunk and The National Theatre at Temple Studios - London, UK - **** (out of 5 stars)
Directed by Felix Barrett and Maxine Doyle

The Taming of the Shrew - Canadian Stage Company's Shakespeare in High Park Amphitheatre - Toronto, ON - *** (out of 5 stars)
Written by William Shakespeare, Directed by Ted Witzel
Runs until Aug. 31 2013



A usual natural benchmark for liking a show is that I need to understand it. Sounds obvious, but maybe it does not always have to be so? Punchdrunk melded Macbeth into its highly stylized experience du-jour theatre in Sleep No More, and now has taken a less widely known story of Woyzeck, and it turns it into a murky The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable. Meanwhile, Canadian Stage's Shakespeare in High Park takes on The Taming of the Shrew without the clearest narrative. Yet both shows, if one accepts the premise, were enjoyable outings despite the confusion over the storylines.

I'll admit, if I didn't read a particular Shakespeare play (back in high school), then my knowledge of the play most probably comes from Hollywood films. And except for Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing, they mostly from Hollywood updated versions usually set in a high school. So between the musical version Kiss Me Kate, my only other reference to The Taming of the Shrew comes from the updated film 10 Things I Hate About You, which while a great film, doesn't quite carry the controversial nature of this Shakespeare comedy.



Ted Witzel's production of the problematic The Taming of the Shrew ups the pastel colour quotient, brings out a flamboyant (is sometimes overly stereotypical) energy, and puts a gay twist and some female empowerment into a tale that can be sometimes mistaken for the opposite. The sentiment is there, with the transition scenes with a great soundtrack make them feel like quick montages that moves the show briskly along as a 90 minute show, but there are some creative choices I didn't fully understand, and that didn't quite explain the story smoothly. There were certain things that irked me, including a bit too obvious cliche of a rocker-dressed hard edged Kate the Shrew, and one that shows her coolness by smoking cigarettes,

Despite the flaws, I enjoyed seeing the chilling cast from Macbeth completely flip tones and have fun in this frilly and sassy Shrew. Greg Gale is again splendid as Hortensio, and Jennifer Dzialoszynski is adorable as Bianca. Kevin MacDonald is wonderful as a leading man Petruchio while Sophie Goulet shakes through the overall set up and is a winning Kate.




Punchdrunk, who turned a space in Chelsea into the haunting, Hitchcock inspired McKittrick Hotel in Sleep No More, has now transformed a warehouse space beside Paddington Station into Temple Studios, a Hollywood studio in the seedy 60s. In The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable, Punchdrunk explores the tale of Woyzeck, a man who is betrayed by many, including his wife and society in general. Mixing illusions of reality and dreams in the dank shadowy side of Hollywood, California; behind trailer parks and behind the studio lights hiding in the darkness, Punchdrunk has set up a playground to explore the breaking of a man. As with Sleep No More though, it is up to the audience member themselves to discover it amongst the intricate sets and brilliant music soundtracks and lighting cues, all amazing stage managed with incredible precision as the actors wander and dance
and blur the lines between their characters as actors or are they characters in Woyzeck themselves?

In a twist, there seems to be a male and female version of Woyzeck happening simultaneously, adding to the confusion over which man (or woman) is being drowned in a sea of despair, although all of the buildup to a finale that alludes to the unfinished original work (and title of this show) does not add clarity to the piece. Then again, maybe I just missed some of those scenes? As with Sleep No More, half the fun is to piece together scenes you saw with those of other audience members, since the narrative is essentially determined by you, the viewer. Unlike Sleep No More though, Woyzeck just seems to be less known than Macbeth, and thus it is harder to identify key characters and pieces to the story.

With allusions to David Lynch's Twin Peaks and a voyeuristic touch that gets enhanced even more with its Hollywood and cinema settings (including a one way viewed cinema screen), there's a lot of layers one can take it and explore. In the end, I'm not sure I understood it all, but experiencing the moods and mystery within the outstanding technical achievement of the production is worth the trip back to a troubled Hollywood.


Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

More After the Jump...

The Dark Night - Macbeth - Play Review

Macbeth - Canadian Stage Company's Shakespeare in High Park Amphitheatre - Toronto, ON - **** (out of 5 stars)
Written by William Shakespeare, Directed by Ker Wells
Runs until Sep. 1 2013

The summer tradition of Shakespeare in the park continues in Toronto's High Park with Canadian Stage doing its first non-Romeo & Juliet tragedy in a place usually reserved for the lighter comedic and romantic Shakespeare repertoire. Instead, while we will be getting some comedy on alternating nights with The Taming of the Shrew, Canadian Stage opens the summer with a dark and chilling Macbeth that might be a perfect anecdote for the warm summer nights in the outdoor High Park Amphitheatre. With some haunting imagery and creepy performances, director Ker Wells, part of the collaboration Canadian Stage has made with York University's MFA Program graduates, has compacted the show into a 90 minute intermissionless experience.


With a terrific cast lead by Hugh Thompson as Macbeth, the language is beautiful articulated in the outdoor air. Add some seducing witches (in frighteningly beautiful masks and chilling voices), a jarring baby puppet (seriously freaky!) and Greg Gale (His Greatness) as a thoughtful Malcolm opposite Thompson's carnal Macbeth, and Wells' take on The Scottish Play brings out some nuances that never occurred to me before (or explained things I never realized I never understood). While I loved the way Philippa Domville spoke as Lady Macbeth, I did feel she felt underused and understated in her machinations.

The sparse but apocalyptic sets and costumes (by Lindsay C. Walker and Victoria Wallace, respectively) are fully realized in the great dinner scene when Banquo's ghost returns where we see Thompson and Banquo's Kevin MacDonald at their best. Ryan Hollyman as MacDuff, Sophie Goulet as Lady MacDuff and Jennifer Dzialoszynski as Young MacDuff nicely rounded out the cast, and I'm looking forward to seeing this group take on the lighter The Taming of the Shrew on opposite nights! (Opening July 16th, currently in previews)

Photo by David Hou Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

More After the Jump...

Danceworthy: Tina Pereira

National Ballet of Canada First Soloist Tina Pereira is taking on the lead role of Carmen, in a new expanded full length version running at The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts this June 5th - 16th (with Tina Pereira performing the role of Carmen on performances June 6, 8, and 9th at the 2pm matinees). I spoke with Tina about taking on the iconic role of Carmen

Tapeworthy: Congrats on getting the principal role in the iconic role of Carmen, so how are you feeling?

Tina Pereira: It’s a pretty amazing role so so far so good!

Tapeworthy: And with such an iconic role, and the National Ballet still has a rotating cast of dancers that performs it, when you’re rehearsing and preparing the role, does the choreographer sort of just place the steps and movements for you, or how much of yourself do you get to put into this kind of performance?

Tina: That’s actually a good question. A lot of it is set for you but I think if a choreographer have different expectations and some are more specific with what they want, and others are more, it’s just good to see what you could bring to the character and to the role. And especially with Davide Bombana [choreographer of Carmen], if you even look at the casting, with me, Heather [Ogden] and Greta [Hodgkinson], we’re all so completely different in every single way, that also lets you know that he’s really looking for your individually interpretation of Carmen.

So for me, I think once he does set the material, then I feel free to add little things that maybe I would do as Carmen that wouldn’t be the same as the other girls and I think he would appreciate that.

Tapeworthy: Yah, like the emotional arcs and your take of the character yourself itself?

Tina: Yah and she’s such a strong character that you do want it to look authentic. So if that’s why he gives that sort of leeway, it’s because if you do something that, not everything looks the same on everybody, and If you do something that really suits you, or suits the character, it doesn’t necessarily mean that anybody else would feel the same way, or [feel] as comfortable doing what you do.

Tapeworthy: In rehearsing for Carmen, have you discovered anything about yourself?

Tina: (laughs) Yah, actually, I’m pretty much smack in the heart of that right now, that discovery process, because so far we’ve just been learning the new material, and just on Friday it was the first time we’ve tried to piece everything together. And today is the first time I’m having my first work-through. So I’ve spent time this weekend trying to find those moments, but I think it’s a process, and I’m still trying to remember some of the new parts of the choreography, so it’s not quite gelled but I hope after this rehearsal, and I have another run-through on Friday, so between these two times, I’m going to get a really good sense of what I want to do with the character.

Tapeworthy: You and the company are also preparing for the mixed program as well (June 19-23), and you dancers do this all the time and in such close proximity in timing, and they usually are such a different type of ballet, do you enjoy it or is it just crazy?

Tina: I think a little both. I went into this process expecting it to be a little crazy, I’ve done a lot of work on my own and I know there’s just not a lot of time so I have to take a lot of initiative upon myself to really know my material and if that means going home and just reviewing something, just so that I can use the rehearsal time wisely to do everything well instead of trying to remember all the choreography.

So I think at some point when you know you have a heavy load you have to take a lot of responsibility for it.

But as far as [also preparing for the mixed program], I think sometimes it’s hard to go from extremely classical to contemporary but I think at first it was hard but now I’m sort of more used to it. What’s different about it is that you can go into one rehearsal and be wearing pink tights and pink shoes and then go into another rehearsal and be in bare legs and flesh shoes. So sometimes you don’t have time change so if I’m doing Carmen with pink shoes and pink tights, which I had to do once, it feels very bizarre (laughs). I feel like I have to be ten times the character because it feels completely wrong.

Tapeworthy: Going on that, I noticed you have a love for fashion with your blog Ballerina Couture, did you want to speak more about that, and if you were planning to pursue a mix of ballet and fashion more in the future?

Tina: Yah, I definitely am! I just sort of stumbled upon it. I started with a blog and then I started to sew and then kind of fused the two and have a plan to make a leotard line. But that was more when the season isn’t so busy, but as for right now, Ballerina Couture is on a very big hold!

But in the future it’s definitely something, and anytime I have spare time, I love to be learning about fashion.

Tapeworthy: Now that you’ve gotten the role of Carmen, are there any dream roles you would love to play? Or any ballets you would love to perform in that you haven’t yet?

Tina: There are so many and we do have so many in our rep that I would like to do but that’s a hard question!

Tapeworthy: Is there a favorite ballet you just love watching as an audience member?

Tina: Onegin! I love Onegin. I could watch that over and over and cry every time.

Tapeworthy: Yes, that’s a beautiful one! To go off topic, I know you train so properly and have such incredible proper diets; do you have any favorite splurge foods you enjoy?

Tina: Believe it or not I’m a vegetarian and I love to eat healthy. Well I guess every once in a while I’ll have some junk food and if there’s a birthday I kind of love cake (laughs) but I don’t really crave junk on a normal basis.

Tapeworthy: What do you think about shows like So You Think You Can Dance and the popularity of dance in reality TV?

Tina: I think it’s amazing since there are so many people with a passion for dance, and I think a lot of people have grown up and danced at one point, or had a sister or a friend that was in dance and really enjoyed it, but to have a career in it, ballet or musical theatre have been the only venues for that, so for shows like that to spread the popularity of dance, I think is really good, and it’s not like they’re just doing Jazz dancing, there’s everything nowadays, from Hip-Hop to Bollywood, so it’s really nice that all these others interests are being exposed and becoming more mainstream, because a lot of people really do enjoy it, it just hasn’t been as accessible.

Tapeworthy: How did you start dancing? I know you came from Trinidad, when did you come to Canada, and did your love for ballet start there or here?

Tina: Here, I moved to Canada when I was 3 so I started dancing when I was 5 and my family lived in Mississauga so I just started at a local dance school from the age of 5 until the age of 12, which is when I went to the National Ballet School but I danced pretty much everything offered to me. So I have some experience with Jazz and Tap and Acrobatics and Lyrical dancing.

Actually one of the people I first started off dancing with was a runner up on the American So You Think You Can Dance and choreographs and he was a judge on the show so he’s now established himself very much in the So You Think You Can Dance world. Ironically enough.

Tapeworthy: Just for fun, what’s the last song you played on your iPod.

Tina: Oh boy, (thinks) I can’t remember but I like anything that makes me dance and anything with a good beat and that makes me move. I love Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie”. Happy music. I like Happy music!

Tapeworthy: Between Carmen and the modern dances, do you have a preference? Do you enjoy both types?

Tina: I’ve trained my whole life and we’ve trained every day in ballet school to be classical dancers but if I had a choice, I wouldn’t choose classical or modern, I would choose character work. I love more than anything is when I can portray a character. It’s the most fulfilling thing, and regardless of how hard or how easy it is, being in the zone of somebody else is just the most rewarding thing for me.

I think especially when you have a challenging role that is on pointe, and just to be in the character, is massive enough.



Interview edited for length.
Photos: Tina Pereira by Sian Richards.
Tina Pereira and Artsits of the ballet in rehearsals, by Christopher Wahl,
Tina Pereira with Jonathan Renna. Photo by Daniel Neuhas
Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

More After the Jump...

The Grey Area - Race and The Call - Play Reviews

Race - Canadian Stage at Bluma Appel Theatre in the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts - Toronto, ON - **1/2 (out of 5 stars)
Written by David Mamet, Directed by Daniel Brooks
Runs until May 5th 2013

The Call - Playwrights Horizons' Peter Jay Sharp Theatre - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - **1/2 (out of 5 stars)
Written by Tanya Barfield, Directed by Leigh Silverman
Runs until May 19th 2013. Review based on early preview.


It may be 2013 but the colour of your skin still factors into the life you can and will lead in America. While daily life may not have as many overt incidences of racism or stereotyping as America's sordid past (the Civil War, the Scottsboro Boys, Malcollm X), countless new news stories (like the tragic death of Trayvon Martin) and political issues (like the absurdity in the importance in seeing Obama's birth certificate) keep the issues of being Black in America as a constant simmering issue.

Two recent new dramas attempt to discuss the issues of race in modern America, with Mamet dramatizing things in his usual hot-button scandal laced ways, while Tanya Barfield gently brings the subtle issues of race in a drama about a white yuppie couple who decide to adopt a baby from Africa after their Black lesbian friends return from a trip to Africa.

There are interesting points in David Mamet's Race, now playing at Canadian Stage, with some pointed statements that make for typical juicy quotable Mamet fare but the plot lacks enough bite to truly be controversial or incendiary. The story revolves around a pompous and rich White man Charles Strickland who is accused of raping a Black woman. Strickland hires a team of lawyers that include White laywer Jack Lawson, a Black lawyer Henry Brown, and a younger Black female lawyer, one who seems a match to the supposed victim. The set up, while not unlike a typical episode plotline on The Good Wife, Boston Legal, or The Practice, still has many interesting facets to explore, with issues of White privilege versus the expectations and struggles Blacks must overcome to succeed in America. Unfortunately, the more interesting points are rolled into a typical courtroom case as the lawyers discuss the legal tactics and points that may or may not help their own careers.

The cast has heralded attention for beloved former-Beverly Hills 90210-teen-idol Jason Priestley's presence on the Toronto stage. While Priestley, as Lawson, still seemed to be fitting into his stage shoes, his innate likability made me root for him and while there were some projection problems, I enjoyed his presence and would like to see him do more theatre in the future. However, with Stratford vets Nigel Shawn Williams as Brown, and Cara Ricketts as young lawyer Susan, things are quite unbalanced as Williams and Ricketts easily control the stage in terrific controlled performances in roles that are more archetypes and plot points than actual characters. The biggest deficit though is Matthew Edison as Strickland. Edison is far too likeable and soft to be playing what is supposed to be a pompous rich jerk and the whole plot that hinges on his character doesn't seem to propel itself from Edison's genial nature.

Still, I'm curious to hear what others have to say about Mamet's Race debate. I only wish the play about being Black and White in America had more colour to it.

In The Call, a new play running at Playwrights Horizons (in a co-production with Primary Stages), White couple Annie (Kerry Butler, Xanadu) and Peter (Kelly AuCoin) announce to their Black lesbian friends Rebecca (Eisa Davis, Passing Strange) and Drea (Crystal A. Dickinson, Clybourne Park) that they are going to adopt a baby. When their local first choice doesn't work out, a recent trip by Rebecca and Drea to Africa puts an idea into Annie and Peter who starts the process of adopting a baby from Africa. As the decisions takes hold, issues of a White couple raising a Black baby arrises, although the controversial sparks you would think would arise from their friends don't, as Rebecca and Drea are pretty supportive with the idea. It's other factors that puts doubt into the group, but ultimately, things begin to unravel when a backstory of an almost unrelated nature break things apart. Without revealing the twist, it sort of feels like it comes out of nowhere to add dramatic shock to the story when the initial idea hasn't been fully mined yet.

Add in an so-nice-he's-odd African neighbour, who insists that Annie and Peter go through with the adoption while asking them to bring shipments of donations to Africa at the same time, and The Call sort of falls off the rails when it tries to stuff too many possible controversies without really delving in fully into any one in particular. Major decisions seem glossed over and simply become assumed plot points, while the African neighbour Alemu (Russell G. Jones) seems to spout out prophetic Oprah-like wisdom.

The cast tries to inject as much realism into the promising play, with the most compelling and subtle performances from Eisa Davis, Crystal A. Dickinson and Kelly AuCoin, but the attempt to tie a shocking past to the story rings false and unnecessary for a story already so filled with so many complications and issues.


I appreciated the attempts at thought provoking plays potentially with flaming controversy with the still-hot button issue of race in contemporary America. While there are interesting points and great potential in set ups for Race and The Call, both plays, despite some great performances, aren't quite as scathing as the premise sets up for. Some plot points don't quite add up, and it takes away from the possible truth the plays reaches for. Still, they are the types of plays that cry out to be discussed afterwards and I'm incredibly curious to hear what others have to say about them, and wonder if the colour of my own skin (and that I am neither Black nor White) may have anything to do with my reactions to the play.

Photos of Race by David Hou
Photo of The Call by Jeremy Daniel
Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

More After the Jump...

This is Middle Age - This - Play Review

This - Canadian Stage at the Berkeley Street Theatre - Toronto, ON - ***1/2 (out of 5 stars)
Written by Melissa James Gibson, Directed by Matthew Jocelyn
Runs until April 13th 2013

This is about this and that. This is about a group of middle aged long-time friends; one who has just lost her husband and trying to move on while caring for an unseen 9 year old; a married couple with a newborn baby; and the token gay friend. This is when they have dinner party and a French Doctor-without-borders joins them and games get misinterpreted which leads to a series of events that start disassembling the group, the marriage, the friendships, all while the French interloper observes as an outsider.

The strong cast of five is stellar with the material. With Yanna McIntosh (everything, including Speaking in Tongues) and Jonathon Young (Tear the Curtain!, Studies in Motion) as the couple dealing with a new baby as well as a new development, while Alon Nashman (Scorched) is wonderfully nurturing and yet pointedly hilarious as Alan, the gay friend with a highly evolved memory. Christian Laurin's Jean Pierre may be the least developed character and is used more as a plot device, but Laurin's   reactions and his final diatribe is so spot on that it explains his existence.

Meanwhile, while it isn't quite as evident as first, since the ensemble works so well together, This becomes truly a piece for Laura Condlin as Jane, the widower being emotionally bounced around while trying to make it through the day as a mother, friend, person.

Matthew Jocelyn opens up the play on Astrid Janson's open set that strips the Berkeley Street Theatre to its bare bones and keeps the lights on the entire theatre while situating some of the audience members onto the stage area, with the actors moving in and out of the audience. While I appreciated the concept, I only wish the audience seating were brought into the stage a bit even more, and close up the performance space a little more to get this closeness effect I believe they were trying to achieve. Still, the bare stage with minimal props lets the drama unfold and reveal itself in the same simplicity as the set harks to.

Gibson's play is often funny between bouts of awkward situations presented as the mess of real life as it invades upon these middle aged friends. While the French character Jean Pierre sometimes feels shoehorned in to move certain plot points, and while the gay friend sometimes feels like the token gay friend in a sitcom, there are still many moments of truths that sear through the play, that ultimately is much ado about ... this... or that.

Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

More After the Jump...

Le Pain and Suffering - Les Misérables - BluRay/DVD Review

Les Misérables - BluRay and DVD (includes Digital Copy and Ultraviolet)
Available Mar. 22nd 2013

Lots have been said about the film when it came out in cinemas. Between the raves, the backlash, the backlash on the backlash, and the backlash on the backlash on the backlash, somewhere in between, is probably where I land on with the film. A film based on the famous musical by Alain Boubil and Claude Schönberg that I like, but don't think, like many fans, is the best musical ever or some orgasmic response. Still, it's a musical with stunning music that we all know by now, and while there is a level of respect for the original musical (which I have seen on stage several times), translating a musical to film is a totally different game. One that sometime succeeds (Chicago, Hairspray) and sometimes fails (Rent, Nine).

Director Tom Hooper makes some bold choices, and I admire his vision in trying to give us a realistic vision of the despair and emotional heartbreaks in Les Misérables, with live sung-through performances that ante up the dramatic acting at the sake of perfect singing. The "realistic" singing didn't bother me as much as it seems to have bothered many out there. I was fine with sacrificing being perfectly in key for
acting.

It was the technical elements that bothered me most about the film, including the camerawork and the stage-looking set design that countered the realistic tone Hooper seemed to be going for. However the shaky cam that is nauseating on the big screen is, while still an unnecessary creative choice, is less bothersome on the small screen in the BluRay/DVD release of Les Mis. The music still sounds great, but now I only wish some of the plotholes were smoothed out between the stage and filming. What one can excuse on stage with theatrical elements, seems to feel very jumpy, or cheesily overdramatic on film (like the whole purpose of Inspector Javert and his motivations).

Still, the performances, from Oscar winner Anne Hathaway, to Hugh Jackman, to Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, Colm Wilkinson, Daniel Huttlestone, and so on, are stellar, and despite which way you sway on Russell Crowe's singing, he gives Inspector Javert the heft and a nice counterpoint to Jackman.

The BluRay/DVD set includes features on Victor Hugo's original masterwork, on creating the sets for the film, plus a full commentary with director Tom Hooper.

Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

More After the Jump...

Contestworthy: Ann on Broadway!

Holland Taylor is on Broadway this season as ANN, about the feisty Texas governor Ann Richards! Now in previews at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater, and officially opening this Thursday, March 7th! And guess what? I have a pair of tickets to give away to a lucky reader/follower!

Written AND performed by Emmy Award winner Holland Taylor (Two and A Half Men, The Practice) in "a no-holds-barred portrait of Ann Richards, the legendary Texas Governor. The new play brings us face to face with a complex, colorful and captivating character bigger than the state from which she hailed".

Playing to sold-out audiences in Texas, and winning critical acclaim in Chicago and at the Kennedy Center in Washingon, DC., The Lincoln Center Theatre now brings Ann to New York for a limited run.


To enter the Ann on Broadway contest:

- Email me at tapeworthycontest at gmail dot com with the answers, your name and city. Please subject the email: ANN ON BROADWAY CONTEST 

- Answer these trivia questions:
1) Holland Taylor has had an illustrious career in film, theatre and television, but in what film did she play a stern law professor?

2) Ann Richards was ultimately beaten in an election for Texas Governorship by which candidate, who she called "some jerk" at one point in the campaign?

3) Holland Taylor have starred in numerous television shows. Name 2 shows and their respective co-stars who will also appear on Broadway this season.


- Contest closes at 11:59pm EST on Friday, March 8th 2013. A winner will be randomly picked from all correct entries received.

- For ONE BONUS Entry: Share the contest on twitter and include your twitter handle and twitter post in the email.
- For ANOTHER BONUS Entry: Share the contest on Facebook on Public setting and include a link to your Facebook page in the email.


- Tapeworthy is not responsible for the prize. Voucher issued by ANN on Broadway includes 2 tickets to the show on Broadway for a date of your choice (subject to availability). Travel is not included in the prize.  You must present your confirmation to the Box Office when you pick up your tickets. Once an order is confirmed, it cannot be changed. Tickets can ONLY be picked up on the day of the performance. Tickets must be picked up at the Box Office no later than 30 minutes prior to show time or your tickets WILL be released for resale. Released tickets cannot be rescheduled.
Prize has no monetary value and cannot be resold to another party.

- Only one winner will be chosen.
I will ask for further details if you are the winner. Only the one winner will be contacted.

Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

More After the Jump...

Road to Freedom? - The Power of Harriet T and The Wizard of Oz - Theatre Reviews

The Power of Harriet T! - Young People's Theatre - Toronto, ON - *** (out of 5 stars)
Written by Michael Miller, Directed by Tanisha Taitt
Runs until Feb. 22nd 2013

The Wizard of Oz - Ed Mirvish Theatre - Toronto, ON - **1/2 (out of 5 stars)
Music by Harold Arlen, Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, Original Background Music by Harold Stothart, Additional Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics by Tim Rice, Adapted and Directed by Jeremy Sams

Watching children's theatre, or theatre appropriate for young people, always seems to demand whether judgement should be graded on a curve, and whether it works as a show for the intended, or for all. While I wouldn't want to diminish theatre for young people as any lesser of an artform, the demands towards a younger audience need to address a difference in concentration levels, and an understandable language level, all preferably without underestimating their intelligence and without talking down towards them. What works for young minds may not live up to an adults, and vice versa, but I would like to think that if a show works, it still works.

Two of Toronto's latest theatrical shows that are marketing to a younger audience seemed to have caused various degrees of restlessness in the youngsters at my viewing though also seemed to entertain them on various levels, while my adult mind probably overanalyzed the show more than it should have.

The Power of Harriet T! is the powerful tale of Harriet T., a Black slave who recounts her struggles with her nasty White owner, and her escape via the underground railway to the north and eventually Canada. It is an important historical tale that provides the stage with some haunting imagery, as directed by Tanisha Taitt on Kimberly Purtell's (purposefully) imbalanced set. While the tale may pull no big surprises in the story to the adults in the room (though still no less disturbing), it certainly seemed shocking to the young audience who seemed to justly react to the racism and unjust actions on stage as Harriet T. endured her slave life in the South. Miller's play doesn't pull any theatrical punches and sometimes the dialogue seemed a tad simplified, but it leaves the power of the story, and of the human struggle as its main focus, and that is powerful in itself.

The new revised version of the classic film The Wizard of Oz is brought to you by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and various producers including Warner Brothers, all happily looking to bringing the classic movie to the stage. While I never really thought of The Wizard of Oz film as a musical, it does have numerous songs that have become legendary and classics in the pop culture canon. To fill out a stage musical, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice have slipped in many of their own songs into the story of Dorothy and her trip to Oz. Unfortunately, while the road on the Yellow Brick Road has some fun times, the show felt pedestrian, and decent at best.

Lisa Horner does a cackling job hamming it up as The Wicked Witch of the West, while Jamie McKnight and Mike Jackson are wonderfully amusing as The Scarecrow and Tin Man, respectively. Cedric Smith plays the Wizard of Oz with the right amount of thundering misaligned authority. The ensemble seems to be made up of some wonderfully attractive and abled dancers, but who seem wasted here dancing Arlene Phillips' clunky and embarrassing choreographed moves (and I only wished they could be doing the show Chicago instead).

While I did not think Danielle Wade was terrible as Dorothy, I also did not find her central enough to be the focus of the show, despite this being her story. Meanwhile, the dog playing Toto received the biggest applause and you can take that however you want.

There seemed to be a lack of that special magic in this theatre endeavor that made the original movie such a piece of cinematic history. The new songs add very little to the proceedings other than padding out the story, and the use of projections didn't blend very seamlessly into Robert Jones' impressive sets on some occasions. Still, there are moments of joy within the stage show, despite finding myself bored much of the time, and the cast does what it can with the classic material and tries to breathe some depth into a show that is still looking for its own heart.


Photo of The Power of Harriet T! by Mark Seow
Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

More After the Jump...